See the Breathtaking NASA Image of the First Named Atlantic Storm of 2014

— -- NASA released a breathtaking satellite image today of Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named Atlantic storm of the 2014 hurricane season.

The photo was captured by the space agency's Aqua satellite on Monday afternoon, just before the tropical depression off the coast of southern Florida was upgraded to a tropical storm and named Arthur today.

Click here to see the high-resolution image.

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Arthur is expected to gain strength and forecast to hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina around 2 a.m. Friday as a hurricane with winds near 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for the east coast of Florida from Fort Pierce to Flagler Beach.